Proverbs 17b

17: 7-10. Fine speech is not becoming to a fool;

still less is false speech to a ruler.

A bribe is like a magic stone in the eyes of those who give it;

wherever they turn, they prosper. 

One who forgive an affront fosters friendship,

but one who dwells on disputes will alienate a friend. 

A rebuke strikes deeper into a discerning person

than a hundred blows into a fool. 

This section begins and ends with ‘a fool’. The contrasting person here is the ‘ruler’ and the 

‘discerning person’, then  further into the chapter, it is the ‘wise person’ or sage. Sometimes the fool is a foil; that is, he is not the main point, he is the contrast that makes the other half of the proverb stand out more. 

The first proverb, verse 7,  implies that having an excellent conversation with a fool would be very strange, even startling. We don’t expect it and it doesn’t seem right. But, the main point in the second line says that even more inappropriate would be dishonest, degrading, and inflammatory speech from a leader. So, a surprisingly wise statement by a fool is one thing, but even more startling should be a leader who tells lies, denigrates people, then tries to intimidate them. 

The second proverb, verse 8,  seems odd because it talks about a bribe without criticizing the practice. Note, first, that the word translated ‘bribe’ could be translated ‘present’. Of course, that may not get us out of the mess since ‘present’ are sometimes bribes as well. Perhaps the proverb only states the obvious; bribes do work. There are enough places in Scripture where the kind of bribes that pervert justice is condemned, and one of them is in this chapter: “The wicked accept a concealed bribe to pervert the ways of justice” (Proverbs 17: 23). Elsewhere the point is made repeatedly: (Exodus 23: 8; Deuteronomy 16: 19, 27: 25; Psalm 15: 5; Isaiah 5: 23; Ezekiel 22: 12; Amos 5: 12; Micah 3:11).

The third proverb is wise indeed. The word ‘forgive’ also can be translated as ‘cover’. This fits with the contrasting person who can’t let it go, and indeed he uncovers it repeatedly by talking about it. The implication here is that this person gossips to everyone about it; and that will certainly alienate a friend. There is a connection to the next proverb that helps explain why forgiving the sin and not spreading it around may have positive outcomes.

The fourth proverb highlights the response of the wise person, the sage. When called out on a particular sin, a wise person does not consider retaliation. Rather, a discerning person will think about whether or not the one correcting them is right. It is possible that the wise man was wrong. The fool, by contrast, never considers that he might be wrong. Even if the fool is hammered with the truth, or accused again and again, it never occurs to him that he might be wrong. 

The next proverb shows us the way of the fool; instead of admitting his errors and changing for the best, he retaliates against the ones who corrected him. 

17: 11 & 13. Evil people seek only rebellion, 

but a cruel messenger will be sent against them.

Evil will not depart from the house

of one who returns evil for good.

Indeed, people who seek only retaliation and rebellion will someday get the bad news; they have crossed too many people and thrown too many friends under the bus.

17:27-28.    One who spares words is knowledgeable; 

one who is cool in spirit has understanding.

Even fools who keep silent are considered wise;

when they close their lips, they are considered intelligent.

Instead of seeking ‘only rebellion’, the wise man and the wise woman keep their cool, and do not run off at the mouth. The wise person’s words are carefully chosen, the words are not rash nor spoken in haste. Even today we use the phrase, ‘Keep your cool’.

The parting thought is worth remembering. It has been reformulated many times down through the ages, but the most common pithy saying seems to be: “Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak and remove all doubt.”